Ban on homeless trespassing in Fresno proposed by councilmembers

FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – A ban on trespassing at Fresno businesses was presented to the public by three members of the Fresno City Council on Tuesday.

Councilmember Gary Bredefeld, one of the three behind the proposed ban, is basing it on an ordinance approved by Fresno City Council last month designed to decrease unhoused activity along public spaces.

“The ordinance met that goal,” Bredefeld said.

On Tuesday, Bredefeld was joined by fellow council members Mike Karbassi and Tyler Maxwell. The three council members are all sponsoring the bill. They say it is time to address private businesses and what was described as the “homeless folk who harass them.”

According to Bredefeld, the new proposed ordinance would allow private business owners to ask people creating problems to leave the property and not return. If the person refuses to leave they could be subject to a criminal act of trespassing, a misdemeanor, or possible jail time as well as a fine of $1,000.

“I want to be clear,” Bredefeld said. “We want to help those who are homeless and truly want help and want to change. There’s plenty of help available in the city.”

According to Bredefeld, the city has spent hundreds of millions of dollars creating housing, providing necessities, support services, medical care, and more.

“But there’s a subculture of the homeless who want that toxic lifestyle, regardless of the help offered to them,” Bredefeld said.

“Those who choose to engage in drugs, criminal behavior, live on the streets, harass business owners, create unsafe and unhealthy conditions in our community, must be held accountable”

Councilmember Mike Karbassi says, as a small business owner, he shares in the struggle his constituents face daily.

“[Business owners are] dealing with unprecedented increases in insurance rates,” Karbassi said. “On top of that, for years, small businesses in this community and communities across California have had to deal with folks that just aren’t well.”

Karbassi says that, while homelessness is not a crime, the unhoused should not be allowed to participate in behaviors that burden small business owners.

“Small business owners are people like you and I,” Karbassi said. “We can’t afford to allow Fresno to turn into San Francisco.”

But Karbassi wants the proposed ordinance to help the unhoused – as well as business owners.

“This is not a solution to homelessness,” Karbassi said. “But this, along with the recent measures we’ve taken and the Supreme Court ruling, are steps we can take to hopefully push the unhoused to places they need to go to get treatment.”

Councilmember Tyler Maxwell says Fresno is a hotbed for affordable housing, first-time home ownership, and low taxes. If it is to stay that way, Maxwell says the unruly and unhoused need to be held accountable.

“I can’t even begin to tell you the number of phone calls my office gets from business owners who are desperately struggling to stay open but are having a hard time because of difficult individuals. Not patrons, but people loitering, starting fights and sleeping in and around their businesses,” said Maxwell.

Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz confirmed there is currently no municipal code that addresses trespassing of this nature.

Janz says many cases and court rulings related to trespassing have been dismissed due to an inability to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that trespassing occurred. Janz says those cases would now come directly to the City Attorney’s office as municipal code violations rather than civil matters.

“We’ve seen time and time again are courts and judges moving to dismiss these cases,” Janz said.

“Police officers out there, are dealing with multiple calls and they have to decide what call they’re going to go to. Are they going to go to a call where their case is not going to get filed by the D.A. or a case where it’s going to get dismissed by a judge or do you go to a different call?”

Janz says leaving these cases up to small businesses to go after in court is not helping anyone and the proposed ordinance is at the very least solution when it comes to prosecuting these cases.

The ordinance is scheduled to be heard at the Fresno City Council meeting on Aug. 29.

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